Azulenes Diels-Alder reaction

Oxidation of thiophene with peracid under carefully controlled conditions gives a mixture of thiophene sulfoxide and 2-hydroxythiophene sulfoxide. These compounds are trapped by addition to benzoquinone to give ultimately naphthoquinone (225) and its 5-hydroxy derivative (226) (76ACS(B)353). The further oxidation of the sulfoxide yields the sulfone, which may function as a diene or dienophile in the Diels-Alder reaction (Scheme 88). An azulene synthesis involves the addition of 6-(A,A-dimethylamino)fulvene (227) to a thiophene sulfone (77TL639, 77JA4199). 

Azulene quinones [49b] are compounds related to the family of tropones and are considered to possess great biological and physiological potential. Several polycyclic compounds have been prepared by high pressure (3kbar, PhCl, 130°C, 15h) Diels-Alder reaction of 3-bromo-l,5-azulene quinone (137) and 3-bromo-l,7-azulene quinone (138) with several dienophiles. The cycloadditions were regioselective and afforded cycloadducts in reasonable to good yields (Scheme 5.20). 

Thiophene 1,1-dioxide did not undergo cycloaddition with electron-deficient dienophiles. In most of the cases the dihydrobenzothiophene derivative 109 was obtained as the major product. This shows that self-dimerization is faster than cycloaddition with a different molecule. In the case of dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) and 4-phenyl-3//-l,2,4-triazole-3,5(4//)-dione (PTAD), the Diels-Alder adducts 111 and 112 of 109 were obtained <1997JA9077>. However, cyclopentadiene gave the Diels-Alder adduct 113 with thiophene 1,1-dioxide. The DMAD adduct 111 on thermolysis undergoes a retro-Diels-Alder reaction to give dimethyl phthalate and thiophene 1,1-dioxide. Azulene was isolated in the thermolysis of 108 in the presence of 6-(dimethylamino)-fulvene this was the result of a [4-1-6] cycloaddition of the thiophene 1,1-dioxide formed in the reaction followed by elimination of SO2 and dimethylamine (Scheme 28) <1999BCJ1919>. 

Rigby synthesized a [5.3.1] oxa-bridged nucleus in the context of a perhydro-azulene synthesis [89]. Upon treatment of 81 with BF3 etherate, a hetero-Diels-Alder reaction between the aldehyde and the diene occurred to give 82 in good yield, Eq. 62. 

SYNTHESIS AND DIELS-ALDER REACTIONS OF 3-ACETYL-2(3H)-OXAZOLONE, 62, 149 SYNTHESIS OF AZULENE, 62, 134... 

Nair and coworkers have described the [8 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of 2H-cyclohep-ta[fr]furan-2-ones such as 521 in several reports311. The reactions of 521 with alkenes yield azulene derivatives upon extrusion of carbon dioxide. Table 30 summarizes the results of the reactions between 521 and some 6,6-disubstituted fulvenes 522 (equation 151)311b. In the case of 6,6-dialkyl fulvenes 522a-c, the [8 + 2] cycloadducts 523 were the major adducts obtained, the Diels-Alder adducts 524 only being formed in trace amounts. 

---